26 Weeks 5 Days

J finally uploaded to his laptop the two bump photos he took of me while on vacation.  So I'll share them now.

24 week photo take at our hotel in Wyoming.  It was here that I noticed that I started to break out in a bad rash on my arms, chest, stomach and tops of my thighs.  Hopefully I'll remember to mention it to my new OB at today's appointment.  All but the rash on the thighs and one spot on my left arm is now healed.  I had thought in advance to bring hydrocortisone cream with me on this trip.

26 weeks taken on Easter Sunday at my parents' house guest bedroom.  Wet hair, no makeup and almost ready to head off to the hospital to see my dad.  Dad is going through surgery today to repair a hole they found in his bladder.  They might have to take part of his intestine to create a new bladder for him.  He has already been in the hospital for three weeks, two of which have been spent in the ICU.

At today's appointment I'll find out just how much I have gained.  As of last week I had lost another 1.5 pounds but this past week I haven't been weighing myself at all.  Just too busy.  I know with all the eating out I must have gained a bit.

Yesterday I bought all the cloth diapers that I need to start with for my baby girl (25 diapers).  I'll probably need to buy about a dozen more once I find out which brand I prefer.

Last night J and I did some more shopping and I purchased things for our new apartment along with a 27 pack of disposable diapers for when her umbilical cord is still attached.  Easier to cut away a paper diaper than to try to turn down an all-in-one cloth diaper.

Tomorrow we'll be moving into our new apartment.  I'll be without a phone or internet for a few more days.  So glad that we bought that air mattress as the household goods folks are refusing to release our furniture until the 5th of May.  We've been going to our new place nightly and setting up a few things here and there as we pick them up.  I'm not liking the layout of this place but we are renting so it isn't like I can modify things like I'd want to.  I'll just have to deal with it.  Still can't get over how the master bedroom "dressing room" is so tiny.  Who in their right mind would decide that a space big enough for a huge walk in closet could be tuned into an accordion door closet on one side, towel bar on another wall and third wall put in a tiny vanity.  If that sink wasn't there I'd put in a rolling rack for clothes storage.  With my husband having two complete wardrobes we need the closet space!  Luckily enough the hall storage closet, though it doesn't have bars in it to hang things on, it does have shelves on one side.  What I plan on doing is using the back half for storage of our decorations and crafting supplies ( J does chain maille) and the front two shelves I already installed tension bars to hang short items on.  J will get the bottom pole while I'll get the top one.  I'll probably have to install a middle support to both poles but since I have to get one for the second bedroom anyway it won't be a big deal.

The master bedroom closet shelf is thin metal along with the same in the second bedroom.  I won't be able to store much on either of those shelves.  I was hoping to at least be able to store a few boxes of toys on the shelves that my daughter won't need until later on.  But I'm afraid that the weight on the shelves will cause them to collapse.  Her closet is devoid of supports and that is where I got the idea to purchase supports for her closet and the two make shift ones I created in the hall closet.

I'll take photos of our new place as I go along and make minor improvement.  Wishing I could change up things in the only bathroom.  The bathroom is so tiny.  I can barely fit on the toilet and my etagere rack isn't going to fit over it since the only towel bar is above the toilet.  I won't be hanging bath sheets on that flimsy rod as it is also hanging too low to the tank.

I'd love to put some air stone in front of the tub but since it would be a permanent change it isn't allowed. I'll have to deal with how the floor buckles and the vinyl base-boarding in front of the tub is wonky and dirty looking like they used the wrong color caulking.  I'd have to take a photo for you to truly understand how bad it looks.  As a matter of fact I'd best take lots of photos of the place this weekend before our things arrive though I have annotated the defects in the place on the work sheets they gave us.  We have to do our own move in inspection to make sure that we aren't charged for things that were damaged before we got there upon our leaving this installation.

I'll update later on when I find out what the OB has to say about today's appointment.

First Days at Ft. Stewart GA

Yesterday was our first full day at Ft. Stewart and I don't have very much to say about it as of yet.  We signed for our housing.  I did my pre admission paperwork for labor and delivery and tried to get an OB appt.  Still waiting for a call back from OB.

My concerns are clear and understandable.  Our apartment is substandard and I'm not sure the Army is aware of the conditions of the housing on this installation.  Well I only hope they aren't aware of how bad the housing is because if they are aware then I'd be mighty upset.  I realize that they "sold" all the housing to a company that is supposed to maintain it properly but it is quite evident that they feel as though a new coat of pain will cover anything.

I am going to have to put in quite a few work orders to have our apartment livable.  Yes I did consider living off post.  However, living off post would mean an increase in our fuel budget and dealing with a landlord that might not give a crap about fixing things.  I had contacted a few rentals before I left JBLM but none got back to me.

Our new neighbors so far seem to be nice.  They filled us in on the fact that the previous tenant left for a bit and their unit, now my unit, became flooded.  Well that would explain the smell.  Most of the surfaces including the two sink vanities but not the cabinets are coated in a texture where it looks like they are trying to hide damage. 

The second bedroom closet is bigger than the master bedroom closet.  The master bedroom closet area, a five foot accordion door closet, would be much bigger if some idiot hadn't decided to put in a second door to the only bathroom and a second vanity.  Wishing I could rip out the vanity, close off the door access to the bath and put up some tension rods to hang clothes.

Our new place is 1017 sq. ft.  Much smaller than my 1500 sq. ft. house I was just living in earlier this month.  We will be able to fit all our things in the house but I'm not sure about about the storage area for J's gear.  He has so much stuff and it is going to be tight without a garage or shed and a shed isn't allowed on the premises.

My neighbors also told me that Winn Medical clinic/hospital doesn't take care of complicate OB.  Great.  Looks like I'll be driving an hour each way to Savannah for my appointments.  Why can't they tell you this before you move?  I think I would have opted to stay at JBLM and have J extend for 6 more months.  I will try hard to make the best of this new duty station and hope it works well for J's career.

Can't Find It

After looking high and low Mom and I can't find my christening dress.  Mom thinks that my brother threw it out.  We found his coming home outfit, christening outfit and communion suit.  I asked my mom why she thinks my brother would throw out my christening outfit and she said that he is vindictive like that.

I have hope that she'll still find it somewhere or my brother will tell her it had to be thrown out because maybe the mice in the attic in the old house chewed it to shreds.  I'd hate to think that my brother is just that mean to throw out something so important to my mother.

Mom and I shopped around on amazon yesterday and I found a pretty christening dress that I think she could find a pattern for and make up.  I have plenty of material left over from my wedding dress, of which mom made for me, to make a gown for my daughter.  The dress we liked best has an overlay of tulle with lace and sequins.  Not gaudy but elegant.

However, I did tell my mom that if she continues to look for the gown it might be best to start on the Irish linen handkerchief bonnet while she puts off the gown making.  She agreed it would be a good idea.  The idea with the bonnet is that with a few snips of the thread holding the gathering in the back it can be turned into the something old she can carry down the aisle when she weds.

Today we are headed out early so that my mom can actually look around at all the baby gear with J and I.  Last weekend I went baby clothes shopping with J's mom who had a lot of fun buying cute outfits of which she'll send to us later as the baby needs them since she purchased larger sizes.

Dad is in a private room and will soon be transferred to a nursing home for rehabilitation.  He came down with a nasty case of MRSA this time; actually not the first time he has had this in this particular year.  Hoping he fully recovers soon and will be able to go north for his granddaughter's christening later this year.

Well it is becoming a bit of a zoo here at the dining room table as Mom and J are holding a conversation over my head.  Since I can't concentrate while trying to type I'll end this for today.

One quick note on the weight gain:  I'm still weighing in naked exactly what I did at week 23 which is almost 3 weeks ago.  Bump is definitely there too.  J took a picture at 24 weeks and I'll have him take a photo at 26 weeks which is this Sunday.  I'll get around to posting them as soon as we get to our new duty station.

Moving Update

We decided to stay a bit longer at my mom's house after arriving here yesterday.  Today dad was moved out of the ICU and into a private room at the VA hospital.  Dad and Mom both asked us to stay longer as they haven't seen us in about seven years. 

Most likely we will be hitting the road on Monday.  That will be the last day of J's 18 day leave.  I'm okay with that and he is too.  He doesn't actually have to report to his new duty station until 10 June but we don't want to use up all of his leave he has been saving up for the past three years in just this move alone.  We are hoping to use some of his leave for the birth and the christening.

While in downstate NY last on Palm Sunday we spoke to the Bishop of J's home church and the man agreed to do the christening with a penciled in scheduled for either Thanksgiving or Christmas when block leave opens up.

Now that we are at my mom's house we are trying to find my christening gown for our daughter.  Not having much luck finding it so far and will most likely have to tear apart the closets in all three bedrooms.  Mom did find my dad's christening gown but it has a few problems with it in that it is really thin, might be too small by the time Christmas comes around and some of the stains might not come out from 1937 when it was last used.

25 Weeks Tomorrow

Hard to believe that the time is flying by so fast.  J and I have been on the road trip east for well over a week.

Thursday night we made a detour to NY state to visit his folks over the Palm Sunday weekend.  We'll take a day or two and visit with my folks in NC next.  We are pretty much just waiting for my dad to get out of the ICU.  Yes he is that sick again.

Bugsy has been traveling quite well and is at this moment getting used to J's brother's dog Mason.  Both are afraid of one another.

I'll do a better update on things once we get more settled but for now we are still "homeless" in the process of moving.

On the Road to the East

First chance I've had to let all of you know that J, Bugsy and I are doing well.  Baby Hiccup is making herself quite known to my bladder on the road trip too.

Tonight we are stopped on the border of Idaho and Utah.  Hopefully we'll get to the Wyoming/Nebraska border before dark tomorrow.  I'm being careful and J does set his stop watch to make sure I'm out and walking around in under two hour increments.  Although most of the time we stop around after 80 minutes of driving he just told me.

Though I brought my scale with me I haven't taken it out of the car.  I'm almost afraid of what I'll weigh after a week to 10 days of eating on the road.  Everything is so darn high in sodium!  I'm making sure to drink water and eat less since I'm less active.

Tomorrow I hit 24 weeks pregnant!  Yay!  I finally made it to viability.

Well that is all I have for now.  Hope everyone is well out there.  I'll catch up on your blogs when I get the chance in a few weeks.

Scaredy Cat

Having a few issues with Bugsy since yesterday.

The movers have come and gone and with them went all the furniture.  I did keep out Bugsy's toys, litter box, blankets and cage but for him it just isn't enough.

Last night J and I had to set up the master bedroom as a safe space for the cat.  We had to do this when we found that he decided he wanted to hide in our pantry.

Today we tried to open up the other rooms to the cat but he just doesn't like it and will walk around with his tail down between his legs.  The house is echoing a lot and sounds that didn't sound like much before now are just too loud and frightening for him.

Hopefully by the time we turn in the keys on Friday, if the house passes inspection, Bugsy will be better adjusted.  He'll have to get used to it because Friday we hit the road and hope to make the Washington/Idaho border by nightfall.

Now for some pregnancy news.

23 weeks 2 days.  Alas I haven't been taking photos. No real bump to notice since the one I posted before. I had an OB appt. today.

Weight: -1.6 pounds since the 12th
BP: 129/68
Fundal Height: 24 CM
Fetal Heart rate: 140's and doing well

Baby Hiccup has been balling up a bit which I just found out can be a concern.  I'll have to keep a bottle of water at my bedside from now on  to help with uterine cramping.  With all the other pains I'm used to being in I don't really notice this as being a pain.  But the odd part is that she likes to ball up when I lie down on either side.  Figure that one out for me please.

My maternity clothes need suspenders.  Had I known for sure I wouldn't have had a big bump, but who knew when they were having a 70% off sale when I was 10 weeks along, then I would have bought one size smaller than my actual size of 16 bottom and 18 tops.  Hoping my two piece full coverage swim suit will stay up.  If it seems like it is too loose I'll take needle and thread to the bottoms and put in some darts.  Yes, I packed a sewing kit in my bags...not the cheap sewing kit either.  I packed pin cushion, needles, full sized scissors and all.

I got an "I hate you" from a female patient at the RE office when I was saying good bye to them.  They are next door to the OB/GYN at Madigan.  The gal had her 10 month old son with her and said that at 20 weeks she was "out to there" (picture looking near full term) with her first pregnancy.  She said the above as she wiped the snot off her son's face with her sleeve.  Note that tissues, face masks and hand sanitizer are within reach of the desk at the RE clinic.

The COB doctor, Dr. Renfro, explained to J and I that I have a few reasons why I'm not showing yet at 23 weeks.  1) I've lost weight.  2) I have a wide pelvis.  3) I'm tall.  Just like my mom who also didn't show much at all.